Transcript History of Music

History of Music
ROMANTIC
1820-1900
Early Romanticism
 Originally a literary movement
 Influenced by the French Revolution
 Desire for a better, higher, and ideal state of being
 Everyday life is considered dull and can only be
improved through individual desire and passion
 Feelings are not restrained by custom, religion, or
society.
 Emotional expression is the highest artistic goal
 The supernatural is a theme in the Romantic arts.
Revolutions
 Romanticism influenced by the French Revolution
1789 and continued problems in 1848 in France,
Germany, Austria, and Italy.
 Composers associated themselves with libertarian
politics include Beethoven, Liszt, Verdi, and Wagner
Romantic Music
 Composers wanted to break down the barriers of harmony and form
established in the Classical period
 Composers experimented with chord and chord progressions that
were prohibited in other times
 The arts were blended. Poetry became more musical, poetic titles
were given to paintings and music, and Wagner’s Gesamtkunstwerk
(“total work”) combined poetry, drama, music, and stagecraft.
 Blurred effects were popular within the individual arts.
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Obscured verbal meanings, unclear shapes and blended colors, and musical
sounds that seem unspecific
 Concerts continued to grow in popularity, more genres appeared on
stage, they became more accessible to the public, and transportation
allowed musicians to travel to many locations. However, the concert
public became more conservative.
 Thematic unity was important to composers.
Style Features of Romantic Music
 It is difficult to define a specific Romantic style. The most important thing is to
notice innovation, novelty, and individual style.
 Rhythm: rubato (“robbed time”) flexible meter that may waver to provide
individual expressivity; the accompaniment may keep a steady beat while the
melody is out of phase.
 Improvisation: ornamentation and added notes was discontinued because it
was important to perform the music written by the composer. However,
rhythm had improvisational characteristics.
 Melody: more emotional and unrestrained with wide ranges and more
irregular rhythm to support spontaneity
 Harmony: melody and harmony become dependent on each other. However,
composers experimented with new chords and chromaticism is used to expand
expressivity.
Instrumentation
 Orchestral instruments reached their current forms
 Orchestras expanded and standardized
 Composers mix instruments to create new
instrumental colors.
Romantic Genres

Program Music: non-vocal music based on a poem, a story, or other literature. This was not
a new idea, but it was popular in this era because it combined literature and music, and people
thought that music was more expressive when it was associated with poetry and other ideas.
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Miniatures: pieces that are short in length
Grandiose compositions: pieces with an increased time span. Listeners impressed by the
sound, emotions, thoughts, and the length.
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Wagner’s opera, The Ring of the Nibelung, takes place on 4 evenings, uses a large orchestra with invented
instruments, 30 cast members, and 15 stage sets.
Lied: German “song” typically accompanied by piano. Text is usually based on a poem, and an
intimacy is conveyed (emotional insight with only you, not the entire audience)
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Another type of program music portrayed a mood based on something outside of the music.
Listen: Erlköng (The Erlking) 1815 by Franz Schubert
Song Cycle: a group of songs sharing a poetic theme or story
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Listen: Dichterliebe (A Poet’s Love) 1840 (read translation p. 246-248) by R. Schumann
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Character Pieces: short piano pieces portraying a specific mood or character
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Im wunderschönen Monat Mai
Die alten, bösen Lieder
Listen: Nocturne in F-Sharp, Op. 15, No. 2 (1831) by Chopin
Opera: continues to be an important genre in the Romantic period
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Leitmotivs: a musical motive linked to a person, thing, idea, or symbol in the drama
Late Romanticism
 Reaction against the excess of Romanticism.
 From the 1850s the period shifted to realism, not Romanticism.
 Concerts emphasize masterpieces of the past (1st time in history)
 Nationalism: people conscious of their history, national character, and heritage;
patriotism.
 Johannes Brahms (1833-1897): rejected innovations of the early Romantics and
returned to Classical genres (string quartets, symphonies, and concertos) and forms
(sonata form, theme and variations, and rondo).
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Listen: Violin Concert in D, Op. 77 (1878)
 Gustav Mahler (1860-1911): embraced the ideals of Romanticism and wrote large
program symphonies and symphonies with solo and choral singing.
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Listen: Symphony No. 1, III (Funeral March) by Mahler
Composers to Know
 Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
 Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
 Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)
 Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
 Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
 Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)
 Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
 Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
 Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
 Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
References
Kerman, Joseph, and Gary Tomlinson. Listen. 4th ed.
Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000.
Stolba, K. Marie. The Development of Western Music.
3rd ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 1998.